''Silent Witness'' is a 1985 American television film starring

Valerie Bertinelli Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress. She first achieved recognition as a child actress, portraying Barbara Cooper Royer on the sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1975–1984) for w ...

and John Savage, directed by Michael Miller. It premiered on October 14, 1985 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and is based on a true rape case in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, the

Cheryl Araujo Cheryl Ann Araujo (March 28, 1961 December 14, 1986) was an American woman from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who was gang-raped in 1983 at age 21 by four men in a tavern in the city. Her case became national news and drew widespread attention t ...

case.Review Summary

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Plot

Anna and Kevin Dunne are a newlywed couple who have recently moved to Pittsburgh. She is working in a discount department store, he is a garbage man. She leads a very happy life, until one night she, along with her husband, witnesses the kidnapping and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

of Patti Mullen from a bar. To her shock, she recognizes Michael, her brother-in-law, as one of the three kidnapper-rapists. The following days, Anna is dealing with a great dilemma. On the one hand, she sympathizes with Patti, a mentally unstable alcoholic who depends on witnesses, and she wants the rapists to be punished. On the other hand, she knows testifying against her brother-in-law will ruin the very close Dunne family. Kevin advises Anna to remain quiet, which she initially does. She does visit Patti, though, who does not remember the kidnap-rape completely. Anna admits to her about the rape, after which Patti presses charges. Kevin and Anna avoid being summoned to testify, which puts a great deal of feeling guilt on Anna's shoulders. She knows that Patti, because of her alcoholic background, can rely only on Anna. During the highly publicized trial, Michael's lawyer Huffman does not have any trouble proving Patti is unreliable. Not much later, it is revealed Patti has committed suicide. Now feeling extremely guilty, Anna is finally ready to testify. When Kevin tries to prevent her from doing so, she decides to leave him, telling him the case is driving them apart. Soon after the testimony, the Dunne family, with the exception of Kevin, starts committing

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

, telling in court Anna is holding a grudge against them for being teased because she, unlike Jean Dunne, hasn't ever got pregnant. They claim Kevin had an affair with a co-worker. They try to convince the judges that Anna's testimony is false and that she is only trying to take revenge against the family. One night, Anna receives a visit from Joey Caputo, an old friend who left the bar shortly before the kidnapping and rape occurred. They have sex that night and the next day, Joey gives a false testimony in which he claims that Anna only cares about the publicity. Kevin notices how his relatives are destroying Anna and finally decides to denounce his family. He tries to convince Anna to run away with him, but she is determined to stay to serve justice. She goes back on stand, but once again, the defense is able to twist her words. In the end, Kevin comes to the rescue, finally giving a testimony. Afterwards, Anna and Kevin are reunited.

Cast

as Anna Abbatieri-Dunne * John Savage as Kevin Dunne *Chris Nash as Michael Dunne *

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Critics' Choice ...

as Patti Mullen *

Pat Corley Pat Corley (June 1, 1930 – September 11, 2006) was an American actor. He was known for his role as bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'' from 1988 to 1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf on the tel ...

as Brad Huffman *

Steven Williams Steven Williams (born January 7, 1949) is an American actor in films and television. He is known for his roles as Captain Adam Fuller on ''21 Jump Street'', Lt. Jefferson Burnett on '' The Equalizer'', Det. August Brooks on '' L.A. Heat'', X on ...

as Ted Gunning *

Jacqueline Brookes Jacqueline Victoire Brookes (July 24, 1930 – April 26, 2013) was an American film, television, and stage actress, best known for her work both off-Broadway and on Broadway. Life and career Brookes was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the daugh ...

as Ma Dunne *

Alex McArthur Alex McArthur (born March 6, 1957) is an American actor. Early life and education He was born in Telford, Pennsylvania, the son of Bruce, a contractor, and Dolores McArthur. He studied acting at De Anza College and San Jose State University, ...

as Joey Caputo *Katie McCombs as Jean Dunne *Tom Signorelli as Detective Pileggi *Billy Elmer(actor) as Carl Englehardt

External links

References

{{reflist 1985 television films 1985 films American crime drama films American rape and revenge films Crime films based on actual events NBC original films Films scored by Michael Hoenig Films directed by Michael Miller (director) 1980s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

External links

References